new tech - Star Trek communicator style clothing

[jefferiestubes8]

looks like a simple patch of cloth but is capable of operating in the Iridium and GPS frequency band as part of clothing. The Iridium satellites allow two-way voice and data communication, while GPS provides positional data to the user. Iridium could also relay the position of the user.

the European Space Agency which funded the project.

While the Patria Aviation communicator may be the first actually built into a shirt, at least one other company has compared its device to the Star Trek communicator. The Vocera Communications System uses hands-free, voice-activated devices that users can carry around their necks to talk with co-workers any time, anywhere within range of the enterprise's Wi-Fi network.

Star Trek communicator lives!
Finnish co. shows high-tech clothing that can send and receive messages via satellite.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/45768

This is coming. Probably commercial applications within 5 years.

 

[CuttingEdge100]

Honestly, while it was cool in Star Trek, and is a pretty nice novelty, I honestly don't think it's really any more practical than some nokia phones which have push-to-talk capability and voice-dialing capability.

I also am not certain I'd want to have a phone attached to all my clothing. For one, it makes it a lot easier for people to pester me as they can contact you wherever you go. Not to mention the FBI has demonstrated the ability to activate cell-phones remotely, which on most phones is not a problem as you simply don't carry the phone on you or remove the battery, but this thing is part of your clothing and I don't know how easy it would be to rip off or remove the battery if it even has a battery.


CuttingEdge100

 

[kv1at3485]

Ah, another step closer to the "wearable computer" concept.